'Black Lightning' Recap - 'Lawanda: The Book of Burial'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

I have to admit, that when I settled in to watch last night’s episode of Black Lightning, there just so happened to be a slight concern rolling about in my mind, in that…was it entirely possible for this refreshing new series to continue its breakneck pace when it comes to its analysis/deconstruction of the superhero genre and the wonderful social commentary it works to provide? Because keeping those types of storytelling elements going week in and week out cannot be an easy task.
 
After all, the characters need to grow in order to keep us engaged and the only way to make that happen is to bring about stories that step away from that kind of focus and as it turns out, it would seem that this particular series is fully aware of the fact that it cannot deliver on both fronts every single week it’s on the air. But, it most certainly can explore one at least of the elements I made mention of on a regular basis since ‘Lawanda: The Book of Burial’ dropped the social commentary this go round, opting instead to indeed focus on the characters and what makes them tick before exploring exactly what it is about superheroes that inspires us.
 
Of course, it dug into such matters in the most unique ways possible, starting with the fact that it explored our characters by providing us with the mundane details of their everyday lives and well, I found this to be an outright stroke of genius. Because more often than not superhero stories always provide us with captivating moment after captivating moment to keep us entertained and focused on the wonder of the hero. But here, we got to see Jefferson as a parent, as a dad and as a man for a change and I love the fact that he spent more time than one would might expect in this episode, going through the motions so to speak, because it added a depth and realism to the character that’s simply not present in other CW shows.
 
That brilliance in storytelling also extended to the exploration of what superheroes mean to us as a whole by making the people of Freeland the focus of this story instead of Black Lightning and in doing so, we were able to see just how much Jefferson’s actions and bravery have inspired the people of this town, to the point where they took to the streets and marched in protest of The 100 and well, this was magnificent to see. More often than not we see people stare at heroes in awe when they arrive on the scene to save the day, and while some of that was present here, it was far more refreshing to hear how Black Lightning gives everyone hope and inspires them to be better human beings and that he’s also motivated them to take back their community so that everyone can enjoy a better life.
 
However, while all of this was fascinating to watch in its own right, there were still some interesting plot points that this episode set up to keep an eye upon down the line. Like for example the fact that Gambi deleted any record of Tobias being present at the rally, and of course, there’s the whole matter of young Anissa’s growing powers. Either way, this was still a wonderful episode through and through, I love the fact that this series continues to find new ways to explore the superhero genre and I truly cannot wait to see what other surprises this series has in store for us as the season rolls on. Until next time.

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